Battleon Surface!
by Xenolord
Summary: COMPLETED! X Guardian Maria has awakened the power of an ancient evil no one on Lore could even hope to destroy, not even the great Drakonnan or Carnax!
1. Chapter One

Battleon Surface

Chapter One

Maria surveyed the area. She could hear the distinct sound of Warlic powering up another one of his spells. She really didn't know why he even tried. All of the spells he could even get off before getting knocked back were either weak or had no effect. He joined this battle because he lost his store to this menace.

The oddity of the entire situation they, and subsequently all of Lore, were in was, the entire thing was all Maria's fault. Everything down to the countless numbers of animals that were now running loose, free and otherwise rampant around Battleon, after Aria's store became a memory. She heard a shout, and the memory of what happened came charging back.

Maria was on one of her daily walks to and from the Crossroads. She took one of these walks once a day at least, to stay fit. She had walked the path she was now on many times before with no unmanageable problems. It was just that day that would prove to be difficult with her.

She was unusually tiered after battling a particularly troublesome Deadly Natator. She now trudged down the path weary and exhausted. The small sign that was pounded into the ground ahead of her read "Battleon: 30 miles". 'Oh my god." She thought, almost dropping her Guardian Blade. 'Thirty! Oh, no. Screw that!' She started looking for some place off the road to rest. Even a conveniently placed rock would do nicely. Like that one right there. She saw a medium-sized rock with an indent that, to the weary traveler, would appear at a distance to be a chair. She smiled and walked over, hoisting herself up onto the rock. For a big stone, it was pretty comfortable. The slabs behind her fuctioned like the back of the same chair, and she fell asleep without the chance to say "Drakkonnan".

Which would have been a very interesting situation if some one had tried to say Drakkonnan before she went to sleep. During her rest, she had a dream. In this dream, she found herself pacing around a woman hovering in a beam of light. The footsteps she heard were not her own. They were far too heavy-stepped to be hers. She did, however recognize the owner of the steps. But before she could say anything, she spoke, but not in her own voice.

"RICHARD!" She bellowed in a low, deep voice. From the door she was now staring blew open and a small, shaking little man came scurrying into the room.

"Y-yes, Master?" He stammered. Maria felt herself cross her arms.

"How are we progressing?" She asked, calmly. Almost as if he was relieved at the question, the man called Richard relaxed, his muscles were becoming less-tense. He answered in a confident voice.

"Preparations are progressing ahead of schedule, Master. No one will find where we are. Or at least, not in enough time."

"Excellent. And if they do, by the time they can, Lore will all ready be on its knees before me. You can go." But instead of leaving, Richard simply stared at the woman. Maria laughed involuntarily. "Beautiful, isn't she? Her hair...her figure. All perfect. All mine."

"Are you sure she can bring down Lore...where Carnax could not?" Again, Maria laughed.

"Carnax!" She bellowed. "Carnax is a FROGZARD compared to her! Nothing! I simply used Carnax to soften them up. I was—unaware that Rinoa Shadowgale could have figured out how to defeat him so easily so quickly. And that Maria Despair! She's the real target, Richard."

"Maria? Why Maria?" The little man asked. 'Because EVERYONE loves me.' Maria thought to herself, but voiced a different opinion.

"Because, Richard. If you have forgotten, it was Maria who lost me the use of my hand! That and a great many past injustices..." Maria noted a rather crushed hand appear before her face. It was red with a distinct three-finger design. Drakkonnan. Maria recognized her handy work in the fused carapace. Maria smiled to herself.

"Understood, Master." Maria drew her good hand across the face of the woman in the light. Even though it was not her own body Maria was in right now, she could feel the woman's soft skin.

"Richard. It would interest you to know that this conversation has become, no longer private." Maria mumbled.

"Where is the interloper, Master? I will dispense them instantly!" Maria felt her good hand press a finger to her skull.

"Right here, Richard. Oh, Maria! I know you can hear me!" She heard herself say. "I know you're just burning to intervene. Why don't you? If you hurry, you can catch me before I wake our guest up! I'm in the Dragonspine Mountains. You can't miss me. I hope you have better luck then your friends did!"

Before anything could happen further, she awoke. She surveyed the area. Despite her blurred vision, she could see a pillar of light rising high into the sky from the north. 'The Dragonspine Mountains...' she thought, hoisting herself off of the rock. Her back popped in protest.

"Ow. Okay, that hurt. I must have slept for a long time." She mumbled, taking hold of her chin with her free hand and pushing left then right until a satisfactory pop echoed in her head. She then proceeded to pop her fingers, back and elbows. Twilly always said that cracking your bones isn't healthy, but Maria really didn't care. If it loosened her up after a long nights sleep, it was healthy, no matter what Twilly Ph.D, M.D says.

After sufficiently popping all the appropriate bones, she charged for Dragonspine. Maybe she could meet up with Cyrus along the way...


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

It would seem that Cyrus either read her mind, or saw the plum of light, because he and Galanoth were all ready waiting near the entrance to a cave. Several other people Maria recognized were there. Leeroy, Amani and Grodd were hiked up, ready for action, and Warlic was preparing some of his famous Heal-All potions. (Guaranteed to heal all non-life threatening wounds in under 45 minutes.) Galanoth was pacing anxiously around, wearing a hole in the ground.

"Hey guys! What's wrong?" Maria spoke. Cyrus reacted faster then anyone. 

"Maria! Good. Great! We were just waiting for you to arrive before we storm Drakkonnan's little hiding place. Hope you brought plenty of pain for our old nemesis."

"Nemesis? Wow, Cyrus. That's a strong word for you. And yes, I did. In the form of my Guardian Blade. Just hope it doesn't break. It's getting kinda flimsy recently, ya know?"

"It's called use, Maria. Things wear down as you use them. Take them to Yulgar. Never a finer blacksmith in Lore." Grodd told her, spinning his oversized axe impossibly on one finger.

"You're gonna have to teach me that, Grodd." Leeroy said envyingly.

"Right. Now that the entire party is here, can we go? I smell Dragon in that cave." Galanoth said with a sniff. Everyone started smelling the air, trying to smell what Dragon smelt like. No one could smell anything. Leeroy took one good huff.

"Uh, Gal? I think that's Cyrus you smell."

"First off, Cyrus smells like good Dragon. This smells like Bad Dragon. A 1234 model." He droned. He then added. "And don't call me 'Gal'."

"Yea, that's just stupid, Leeroy."

"I didn't know Dragons had vintages. That's pretty cool." Maria smiled.

"I know." Galanoth replied.

"Apparently they also have Magical Alignments, too. Huh?" Warlic muttered.

"Can we just go?" Amani shouted, frustrated.

"YES! Let's. Lee…" Leeroy began. 

"DON'T! Last time you freaking did that, we almost died, REMEMBER, LEEROY?" Grodd stopped the happy-go-lucky Paladin.

"Oh, yea. Forgot." Leeroy chuckled. "Right then. All together? One…" Leeroy started.

"Twothree!" Maria said in haste. She charged head long into the cave, blade out.

"That was so not me." Leeroy said. The rest of the party followed.

Maria executed a perfect flying kick right into the large oaken double doors, splitting them clean in half. They fell to the ground. Drakkonnan had his back turned to the Guardian when she entered. 

"Greetings, Maria Despair. So…good of you to barge in on such…short notice."

"We're here to defeat you once and for all, Drakkonnan!" Maria shouted heroicly, sounding menacing.

"'We?' Who is this 'we' you speak of? I see no others?"

"Oh, yea. Well…I kinda got a head of them. They're coming though. They'll be here." She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck embarrassed.

"Hummm…" Drakkonnan hummed slightly, lowering his head. "I think…not." Before Maria could ask him what he meant, an obnoxiously loud thud echoed thought the cave. The Guardian turned around to see Leeroy laying on the floor with Grodd, Amani, Cyrus and Galanoth stacked on top of him, in that order.

"Who's on my wing? Ow! OW! Oh-Dubya! OW!" Cyrus called.

"I'm so glad I'm wearing this armor. Sucks to be you guys." Galanoth said dreamingly.

"I'm seeing stars." Leeroy said in a daze.

"I hurt all over…" Amani droned.

"Quiet, Amani, you're sister wants to say something. Wow. I didn't know you two dressed in matching Mage Robes! That's cute!"

"I don't have a twin, stupid! You're seeing double!"

"Hey! You can even co-ordinate your speech! Awww…I wanna do that…"

"Yea, co-ordinate you speech with me. Then I might make some sense outta you." Grodd replied trying to squeeze out from under Amani. "By the way, Amani. You're butt's in my face." The mage let out a squeak as Grodd tried to worm his way out.

"Once Cyrus gets off of me. You are going to become exactly like Leeroy: A brain-dead Fighter." 

"But I'm a Paladin." Leeroy corrected her.

"Shut up! No one asked you!" She snapped.


	3. Chapter Three

"Maybe I forgot to tell you, Maria. But I personally enchanted that doorway to allow no one except Richard, you and myself through. And as you probably noticed, they are not in the aforementioned list. This prevents the introduction of unexpected problems. Makes my life so much easier." Drakonnan said, smiling to the pile of bumbling heroes. They were starting to sort themselves out. Cyrus' wings were becoming more distinguishable from Amani's robes. And Galanoth had managed to pull about half of his weight off poor Cyrus (Who was by this point, desperately gasping for air.) Maria was now really mad at herself for charging ahead Helter-Skelter without any support.

"Drakonnan, the roots of my hatred for you goes deeper then you can possibly know. My disdain for your tactics knows no bounds. Every time I think about you I puke. I hate you that much." Maria muttered, just loud enough to be heard by Drakonnan.

"That's a lot of hate there, Maria. Pity it's not mine to use." He hissed.

"Leeroy! That's my hand you idiot!" Amani called from the back.

"Sorry. I can't move. I feel like a Dragon fell on me!" The Paladin shouted back.

"Dragon? Who said Dragon? Where's the Dragon! I'll tear it to pieces!" Galanoth ranted.

"There's no Dragon here, Galanoth! Get off of it! Get off of me!" Grodd replied frustrated.

"Aww...you had me going there."

"I grow tired of all this moaning and complaining. Shall we see what my little discovery yields?" Drakonnan threw his good hand to the corresponding side and turned to the girl. "Serras Nerra! Destroy her!" He shouted. The light around the girl faded. She slowly fell to ground. After her foot hit the ground, she went into a kneel, one hand on her knee, then other hanging freely. At first, nothing moved. Then, steadily, she began to twitch and move ever so slightly. Even the pile of Heroes (Which was now about eighty percent sorted out) stopped what they were doing to watch the rise of this Serras Nerra.

"If you want to strike her down, I suggest you start moving, Maria! She may seem like nothing more then a tender, harmless little girl to you, but soon, once she awakens and recharges her power to full, nothing or no one can stop her. Even the great Akriloth shall bow and quiver in fear at the very sight of her. This is the wave of the future, Maria dear! This is MY future! I'm glad you could be part of it! Thanks for playing! Try again!" Drakonnan shouted, one hand held above his head (His, oddly, mangled one.)

"Maria! Finish her! NOW! Don't let her wake up!" Leeroy shouted. It was his smartest idea to date.

"I don't know if she really IS a threat. She could be just what she appears to be. An innocent little girl!" The Guardian replied, turning her back.

"Hey. Where'd the girl with the red hair go?" Cyrus asked. Everyone looked to where Serras once knelt. Nothing. Maria spun around to face Drakonnan. Serras now stood wobbly next to the red-horned monstrosity.

"You waited too late, Maria. Serras! Destroy her and her friends."

"Who are you to control me, Inferior?" Serras asked, turning to face Drakonnan. He turned to her.

"I am Drakonnan! I found you and resurrected you from your long cold sleep! You MUST obey me! I control you!"

"Control...control is sought only by those who do not have it...or lost it. Control is a feeble thing. Control is as stray as the wind. One day, it is yours. The next, it is not. I obey only one person. And that person is not you." She droned without a hint of emotion. Drakonnan retracted in time to attempt to block Serras' strike. In one clean, almost blurry motion, Serras planted the palm of her hand right in the middle of Drakonnan's nose. This knocked him clean clear across the room, slamming him into to wall.

"Ohmygod!" Maria shouted as the bulky mass of Drakonnan came to a complete stop three feet into the heavy stonewall. "Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, OHMYGOD!" Maria repeated, trying to stay calm (As if it wasn't a dead giveaway she was all ready panicking.) She held her Guardian Blade at a 45-degree angle with the floor. With Drakonnan unconscious, the shield around the door dropped, allowing her friends entrance. They all scrambled to their feet, and rushed in.

"Finally! I thought you were gonna have all the fun without us, Maria!"

"Would I do that, Amani?"

"Two words: Vamphook Spyre." Amani replied, recalling their Botched-By-Paladin raid on the large tower northwest of Battleon.

"That was different. You couldn't help me then. Those stupid Vampragons."

"I wonder if Element X affects her..." Galanoth sneered, preparing his Dragon Blade.

"Only one way to find out..." The Guardian replied, watching her Guardian Blade glow neon green.

"HYPER BEAM!" The large green dragon that had crashed through the ceiling at Maria's summons screamed, charging a very big ball in its mouth. It found its target, Serras Nerra, and fired right at her. Concentrating 100 percent of the blast on the frame.

Serras drew up her hand and absorbed the blast, taking no notable damage from doing so. She sneered and shaped the unruly mass of gaseous Element X into a concentrated ball (Which was very Dragon Ball Z style.) She pulled back, cradling the ball in her hand. She smiled and fired it back at Amani. She absorbed about seventy percent of it and converted into the health she lost taking damage from the other thirty percent of the blast.

"Okay. It's official. That really freaking hurt." Amani responded, brushing a burning ember from her robe. Maria was getting agitated at this point. Serras had absorbed, deflected or otherwise was unaffected by anything that she (Maria) threw, tossed, or otherwise hurled her (Serras') way.

"Enough of this pathetic waste of time. It's about High-Time I destroyed you!" Serras shouted, throwing a hand to the side. A long, thin blade formed in the open hand. It resembled the all-mighty Blade of Awe every Guardian would kill to get their hands on, but it was different. This was longer, the blade thinner. The four runes in the center were now oriented to a circle, not a line. Maria watched as a thick, viscous gel began to ooze off of the blade. Maria swore.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Like it, Maria? It's called The Blade of Insight. Think of it as…" Serras thought for a moment. "The Blade of Awe's bigger, meaner cousin. With a prison record." She smiled. Maria managed to catch herself before she locked up with envy. She shook her head and snapped to.

"Leeroy! Do you have any protection spells?" She asked the bumbling Paladin. Leeroy thought for a second before answering (An answer Maria didn't want to hear.)

"Uh, negatory, there, Guardian lady. Only spells for the Undead." He replied, smiling. Amani threw him a nasty glare.

"I'm waiting, my dear. Any time you and your foolish allies wish to do battle with me, I am ready." Serras taunted.

"Okay. I TRIED to show SOME restraint here, but NO! You had to taunt me! LEEEERRROOYY!" Leeroy shouted, raising his axe up on high. "JEEEEENNNNKIIIINNNNSS!" he shouted again charging blindly for Serras. In a blinding flurry of swings, Leeroy moved forwards, pushing the woman ever back. Maria noted Leeroy looked like Mario in the original Donkey Kong with the hammer. (Don't ask her how she knew what Donkey Kong was, she just did.) He continued mindlessly hacking away at his foe with a complete disregard for anything.

"GO LEEROY, GO!" Atrix shouted from the back. Galanoth was far too gob smacked to say anything. Leeroy; Leeroy, the little Paladin everyone bashes, was royally handing Serras her own hide on a gold platter. Finally, having had enough of Leeroy, Serras smacked him in the face, knocking him clear-cross the room. He slammed into (Coincidentally the same one Drakonnan did.) wall. He was out.

"Wow. That little Paladin did some damage." Maria muttered.

"I've had just about enough of your constant paining. I shall now destroy you in one strike. ERUPTION!" She shouted, raising a hand. Nothing. "ERUPTION!" She shouted again. And again, nothing. Frustrated now, she called again: "ERUPTION!" A small flame flickered in her hand and then died.

"Sorry, did I forget to mention something?" A female voice said slyly from the side. "Only my spells work in this place. Well, yours would work too if you used them for like, summoning an Ice Cream Dragon, or something along those lines. But since you're clearly NOT, they just kinda fizzle."

"Who the hell are you?" Maria and Serras asked unanimously. The woman only held up the crushed skull of Drakonnan. She pointed at the crushed nose.

"That hurt more then you can possibly ever imagine. You damn near broke my nose. I can't go into town with a broken nose. It's very unbecoming of a lady to have a broken nose. Agreed, Maria?"

"No!" Atrix said agast. "It can't POSSIBLY be! Can it?"

"What? It never once crossed your mind that I might actually be a woman?"

"Actually, I was referring to Leeroy getting up and not breaking any bones, but yea. The fact that you're a girl was a bit of a shocker." The woman fell over. She recovered quickly and straightened her hair (Which was the same seafoam color as Maria's) and brushed the dust off of her shoulders.

"I've got no time for this! I will fight only one of you! Make your decision!" Serras shouted. Everyone stopped.

"I vote Maria!" Leeroy said, re-joining the ranks.

"You coward!" Atrix replied.

"No, I think Leeroy's right here. Maria IS an X-Guardian, after all. She can handle herself.

"Okay. I'll fight her." Maria replied, stepping up to the challenge. Serras smiled. She was amused that one so young would be willing to die so soon. Without further provocation, Serras charged with her Blade of Insight. The first few swings went wide, complete misses. The next slice barely missed her armor, but some of the gel which coated her blade became dislodged from the end and came to a rest on Maria's breast plate. Serras jumped back.

"Like it? It's a very potent Acid. It will eat through armor almost instantly. Skin…that's different. With skin, it will eat away microinches at a time. Shaving it off layer by layer. It's quite painful. Everyone who's been exposed to it scream with pain from the beginning to the quite painful end. They usually go mute from screaming so loud for so long. I like the sound of true pain." She appeared to be reminiscing on something. "That's what this world needs. To know the meaning of true pain."

"You sick, sadistic…" Maria tried no to use the b-word. She thought it was a little to degrading, even for someone like Serras Nerra. So, she settled with her over-used replacement. "You sick, sadistic animal!" She stared in disbelief at how creepy Serras was. She enjoyed pain. She actually LIKED watching people in pain. She had to be stopped, Maria decided. If anyone got in her way…Maria shuddered to think.

With a supernatural burst of speed, Maria was upon the creature called Serras in an instant. She began swinging her blade in a series of short, linked strikes. She was attempting to discombobulate her opponent's concetration just long enough to land a critical blow. However, for some reason, all Maria's strikes were only hitting the Blade of Insight. Serras was laughing like a joyeous school girl who just passed all her exams.

"Foolish girl! You can't possibly expect to beat me! The Blade of Insight can predict your movements up to half a minute in advance! I can't be killed by you—"She was cut off by a pain to the neck. She groaned in protest and tried to break free of the firm hold Safiria had on her neck. Unlike most of her victims, Serras was not being put into a sensual comatose state. (Which was induced primarily by short exposures to a vampire's bite. Prolonged exposure resulted in Vamperism.) Dispite the hold the Vampire Queen had on Serras, she still struggled. She had full use of her limbs (Which would add to why Maria was not making any notion to attack her. Besides, Safiria could drink her to resemble a mummified BURP.) Well, that plan went down like a Drakel Air Raider which had just met the worlds biggest bug zapper. Serras managed to break Safiria's bite and pull away, loosing a good chunk of her neck in the process.

Safiria licked her lips, swallowing the last remanents of blood she had on her lips. Serras was now focused on Safiria. That bite had clearly caused her either great pain, or a stabbing sense of paranoia in the woman. She stared at the Vampire with fearful eyes. She expected her movements to be quick and sure. Taking the opportunity, Maria struck. She swung her Guardian Blade at the back of her left leg, attempting to cripple her. It worked for a bit, the threat went down, just barely managing to let go a squeak.

"That's some good fixings, right there." Safiria cooed to herself. She appeared stronger then she was last time Maria met her. She seemed almost as if drinking the blood of the Mage of Despair had transmutted some of her powers over to Safiria.

"It has suddenly become painfully clear to me that I cannot win this. Much of Lore has changed since my imprisonment. Men no longer keep their words, and women stand beside men. It's no wonder I was awoken at such a desperate time. This world needs rebuild upon the fabric of my generation. You society is not great. And it will fall. Sooner or later, it will fall." Serras muttered, and without another breath leaving her lips, she vanished into nothing.

"She's gone…" Atrix said aloud. Galanoth nodded. He seemed perfectly content staring at Safiria's assests. Maria now looked at her blade (Which she had not looked at since the battle began.) The entire top end was missing. The weapon had literaly snapped in half. That acid coating the Blade of Insight must have eaten through her sword. That's something not even Valencia could fix. She'd have to get a new one.

"Okay, lady. Masquerade's up. Tell us what happened." Atrix told the woman formally known as Drakonnan. He crossed his arms, waiting a response. Leeroy, Amani and Grodd lined up behind her as so she didn't try to run. Maria stood her ground, unsure of what to say. Galanoth brought up her left side, just to complete the box. Cyrus stood off in the wings, so to speak. The cornered woman spoke.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Well, it started some time ago. I had left home to go make a name for myself, to become a legend, I suppose." Drakonnan started. "The Great Fire War was long over by this point, and I really had nothing to fear from Akriloth or…as weird as this seems, Drakonnan."

"Wait, if you're _not_ Drakonnan, then who are you?" Atrix asked with a perplexed grimace about him. The woman sighed.

"My given name was…Natalya Despair." This name hit home perticuarly hard for Maria. Her mother - just before she died - had told Maria she had an older sister which left home but, to be fighting her this whole time! Crazy. "I came across this cave we now stand. Inside, was a whithering, dying shell of a man. He was decrepit, aging and fading fast. He told me that in life, he was the Great Drakonnan, and that his powers had died with the legend. He explained that he didn't mind dying, it was a welcome gift to him, but he didn't want his name to dissappear. He wanted Drakonnan to become a god, he wanted him never to die. He said that, if anything, he wanted me to carry on as Drakonnan. At first, I refused. I had heard horror stories of what he did to people during The Great Fire War. I didn't want to become that monster. I wanted to use my skills for Battleon, not against it.

"Nevertheless, I wanted the power he then promised. He said that all of the abilities that had made him famous were now locked away, all snuggly inside the armor that people recognize as Drakonnan. The lure was too good. I drew closer to the armor, and before I could control myself, I had it on. It was a great feeling, almost sexual. I could feel my body lift up, power up. I loved it. And hated it. Without any knowledge about what had happened, I had damned myself to follow in that man's footsteps. But I was determined to be nothing like him. If only it had worked out as well in reality as it did on paper.

"I made up my mind to start helping people as Drakonnan. My first stop would be Lolosia. I traveled there from here with nothing but humanitarian aid in mind. But when I arrived, I received a less-then-thrilled greeting. The people took up arms, anything they could find. Rebar pipes, pointed sticks. They shouted that they wouldn't go down without a fight. I pleaded with them. 'I mean you no harm!' I shouted. My cries fell on deaf ears. Not sure of my powers, and not wishing harm on anyone, I withdrew, returned here. Thoughts filled my head. Some good, some bad. Others, others I would not dwell into further. I decided to try once more. This time, I would try to help Graemor. Maybe they would be more willing to accept my aid. Dead wrong again.

"The people of Granemor proved to be more vicious then those of Lolosia. One even attacked me with a Blade of Awe! This one would have killed me…had I not defended myself. I grabbed the sword and—I don't know, instincts, I suppose, took over. I broke the sword at the guard, turned it around and thrust it into her chest. After this, I retreated, appauled with myself. I had never killed anyone in my life, and know, there I was. A murderer. I spent what felt like days pacing up and down in this cave. I was trying to think about what to do, but I couldn't. And then, I began to think, I could help people from behind the scenes. Descreatly. So I began to think, and then I came up with it! I would revive the most dangerous scourge ever known to man, then destroy it!" Her voice faultered. "Nevertheless, it didn't quite work out like that. It tried to kill me, so I had to flee. That's when I noticed someone I had not seen in years. My little sister, Maria." Even though all of those adventureres, all of the Guardians had been killed fighting Carnax, she stood firm, holding her ground. Even when that idiot MegaPrime got crushed to a bloody, pulpy mass right in front of her. And I thought, that's my little sister, unafraid."

Maria was unsure what to think. She had never know her sister before, she left when she was very young. Her mother had told her that Natalya was a strong-willed woman who never took no for an answer. But her entire veiw changed when she realized that the sister she once looked up to was nothing more then a murderer. The Guardian's eyes filled with tears. Her role model had abandoned her again. This time, there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. She turned away violently from her sister, trying to surpress her feelings. She was unsure weather she wanted to hug Natalya or kill her. Both were ever-present in her mind. She charged out of the cave, literaly throwing Leeroy and Atrix to the side.

"Should we go after her?" Grodd asked, looking after Maria as she charged out of the cave. He was genuinly worried about her. He started to move towards her, but Amani stopped him.

"I don't think you should." She said. "She needs some one to comfort her, not make it worse."

"Oh, so we should not send Leeroy, right?" Grodd joked. Amani clearly was not in the mood for jokes.

"You think this is a joke, Grodd? Some kind of sick prank for you to continually use, poke and prod at? Huh! This is Maria we're talking about here! That girl is unaffected by anything! She has sat stone faced through countless battles! She stood in the face of something we could not defeat, and slew it! That woman is as close to a goddess as anyone alive! Now look at her! In mear moments she crumbled like the base of a long-forgotten tower. You want to make it worse? Fine. Go ahead! I'm not going to be going to your funeral. Leeroy might if there's food."

"Food, I heard food! Where's food!"

"SHUT UP LEEROY!" Amani, Atrix and Galanoth all screamed simultaneously.

"Okay…" he mumbled, depressed.

Everyone filed out of the cave. Natalya in the lead, followed by Atrix and Galanoth, then by Leeroy, Amani and Grodd. Safiria remained behind. The Vampress came across Maria. She had crouched down on a rock, crying. Something that Natalya had either said or done had hit the Guardian like a pack of Dragons. Her cries permeated the silence. Safiria crouched down next to her, pulling her flowing dress up. She layed a hand on her shoulder as she had done a week ago. She spoke in a soft, motherly voice.

"Are you okay?" She asked as an opener, even though the answer was painfully obvious. Maria could not speak, all she did was shake her head violently back and forth. Her crying continued, seeming never to end. The Vampress leaned over and wrapped her arms around the X-Guardian's neck, making a soothing 'shh' noise. "It's okay. It's okay. We all make mistakes, but you can't beat yourself up about it. She's your sister. She made a poor choice, yes, but think: Did you do any REAL, irrepairable damage to her? She's physically all right. She's more to be pittied the scolded. Come on. Let's get you to Yulgar's for the night. You need some sleep. I'll walk with you." She released her embrace, yet kept her arms on her shoulders. Slowly, the broken woman stood on her feet. Her once graceful posture was ruined by stress, lies and decet. Safiria walked with Maria the whole way back to Battleon.


	6. Chapter Six

Which brings us to our current predicament. Battleon. The Mage of Despair had turned her destructive whims upon the unsuspecting city. Yulgar's was all ready in ruins, as was Warlic's. Maria cursed under her breath. She was better now, Maria. Safiria let her cry on one of her shoulder for about twenty miles, and on the other for the rest of the trip. By the time they reached what was once Battleon, Maria was more mad then distraught.

"Why, would you look at who we have here! The Guardian and her little friends. Come to play again!" Serras taunted. The leader of the group was obviously not in the mood for games.

"Play? Play? Oh, no, Serras. Play time over. It's time to let the big boys and girls into the field for some time? What do you say?" Maria declared. Serras only laughed.

"Oh, no, mommy, PLEASE! Five more minutes?" Nerra chanted childishly. This enraged Galanoth. Maria had not seen him THAT mad since Akriloth beat him.

"MARIA! Stop playing with her and destroy it!" He shouted in a commanding voice. Maria shrugged. She was really in no mood for games, but her face didn't show it. Deep inside Maria, a burning hatred was fermenting. It was screaming to come to the surface.

"All righty, Serras. I think it's about time you stop being a coward." Serras dropped everything (Which at this moment included her jaw, MegaPrime, MegaPrime's lunch, and about half of Aria's plumbing utility.) This hit home very hard to her. Maria had just called the most powerful woman to ever grace Lore, a coward. She turned around very slowly towards the Guardian, still processing the words in her head, just in case she mis-heard.

"Excuse me? What did you call me? ME? The Mage of Despair!" Serras screeched. Atrix plugged his ears.

"I called you a coward. C-O-W-A-R-D coward. I can say it in other laguages, too, if you want me to." She smiled at Serras' fuming grimace.

"INSOLANT FOOL!" She bellowed, her face was beet red. Maria smiled. "You are NOTHING compared to me! I can crush you with a thought! You would have to be three times as strong as you are now to even _hope_ to _injure_ me! You have no chance!" Maria said nothing.

"Okay. We can work it out." Maria replied, a hand on her hip. The heat in the air around her vanished, turning the surrounding area freezing cold. Air began to swirl around the Guardian, her hair picked up, like it was being blown straight up. Her cape copied. She remained firm, never moving. Serras put her hand to her eyes to shield them from the wind. "Don't blink." She finished. In one brilliant flash of light, and one loud, deafening bang, Maria's appearance had drastically changed. Her hair, still seafoam, had grown to well past her lower back. Her armor, while still distinguisable as Guardian Armor, had changed just as drastically as her appearance. The shoulder blades doubled in length. Her shin guards on her legs grew in length, turning into spikes that overlapped her knees. Large spikes began to protrude from her lower arms, two from each arm. Black cat ears appeared on the top of her head, complete with a black cat tail. Her cape split into two, grew slightly, reared up, and formed into black draconic wings. Fangs began to protrude from her mouth (No one, to this day, knows if the fangs were a side-effect of the X-Boost, or Maria's half vamperism. The jury's still out). Her eyes, while still remaining red, became draconic in appearance. No one said anything.

"Wow. She's become a catpiredragonguardian! That's awsome!" Grodd observed, merging the four distinct features she had (Dragon, cat, Vampire, and her X-Guardian self.) Serras stood stunned.

"I'll resist in attacking her." Galanoth droned.

"Probably a good idea, Gal." Maria shouted over her shoulder.

"Wow. She's got excellent hearing! We must be, what, fifty meters away!" Atrix said surprised.

"Well, well, well…Interesting. You've become very strong in such a short time. I applaud you, Maria. Now, what do you want on your tombstone?" Serras taunted, doing an excellent job of hiding her fear.

"Cheese, sausage, and sliced up Mage of Despair!"


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

The Mage of Despair drew her Blade of Insight. She flipped it around in her hand, moved her back leg farther back, put her non-dominant hand forward, palm outstreached, and held the sword in her other hand, abover her head, point facing Maria. The defiant Guardian on smiled and balled both her fists, bringing them to bear in front of her body. Serras laughed.

"You think you can beat me with no weapons?" She asked, holding her pose. Maria smiled.

"No. I don't." The X-Guardian stated, keeping her body still. Serras smiled, and dropped her sword, returning to a standing position. "I know I can!" She shouted, pushing off with her back foot, dashing forwards with blinding speed. Serras barely had a chance to bring her sword back up before Maria wedged her fist halfway up Serras' diaphram. Her target took to the air, arching up some fifty feet, then came crashing down sixty meters away. She slid right into Yulgar's Inn (Or what was left of it.) A bright flash of light blew the roof off the battered building. Serras was now airborne, supported by no wings or anything of the sort. Magic, no doubt.

"That's my little sister!" Natalya shouted, pleased to see Serras so pissed.

"Not! One! Word!" Maria shouted back. She was still very angry at Natalya for keeping herself secret from the Guardian for all these years.

"YOU INSOLENT ENGRATE!" Serras shouted, redirecting Maria's attention to where it should remain. "You could have escaped with your lives intact! BUT NO! You had to make the mistake of attacking me! Well. We'll just see how long our hero can last, shall we?" The word hero sounded like it was being forced from her mouth, like it was hard to say. Maria yawned bored. She had been insulted before, but the insultor had always gone to sleep the next night six feet under.

"Sticks and stones, Magey girl. I've heard them all. Nothing can affect me. Insult wise. Oh, and your move." Serras began fuming. If there was anything she hated more then being hurt, it was being mocked. And to her, that was exactly what Maria was doing. Serras thrust an open hand out, calling her blade to her. The long weapon slid out of the ground and came to rest in the palm of her hand.

"YOU SHALL DIE WHERE YOU STAND!" With a burst of rage-enhanced speed, Serras charged Maria with the point of her sword staring right at her, the Mage's intent was to run her opponent through and right into the nearest tree to let die. When she reached the Guardian, however, she simply knocked the blade away, sending it's wielder into Aria's petshop.

Again, the roof blew off, allowing the Mage of Despair an exit, but this time, she came back with a hostage.

"Who's that she's got?" Atrix asked, squinting to see the other person.

"Son of a Drakel! It's Aria!" Galanoth responded when he recognized her trademarked apron. She was screaming to be released, tears streaming down her face. She was scared almost-stiff. In fact, she was so scared, she couldn't stop moving, like frightened convulsions. Maria gritted her teeth. She could easily set off a local-area explosion right on top of Serras, but that would no doubt incinerate Aria in the process, something she was trying to avoid. Maria hesitated.

"I knew you had a weak spot!" Serras shouted, throwing Aria effortlessly into air. She was still screaming.

Even when Serras pierced her heart. The party watched on in horror as the life slowly leeched out of the young girl. She had her entire life ahead of her. And her candle was snuffed out in an instant. Everyone could feel the rage welling inside Maria. Aria was close to the Guardian, not as a friend, but as sisters. Aria was always nice, no matter who came into her shop. She was the sister Maria, until today, never had. She was dead before Serras could pull her sword out. Without need of the body, she tossed it into the ground below. Everyone head the dull thud.

"Oh my god…" Amani mused, almost choking.

"That's horrible!" Grodd muttered.

"I'll say! She still owns me fifty gold." Leeroy replied. This didn't go over well with Amani, who said nothing, but stole Grodd's Black Axe and whacked Leeroy upside the head with the blunt end very, very hard.

"YOU COWARD!" Galanoth shouted. He was a chivalrous man. He was what most women wanted in the modern man; hansome, gallant, tall, somewhat dark, and caring. And very scary if he was mad. Which at the moment he was very.

"You call me a coward! What of you? You strike at your foes with a weapon designed for them! You single out your opponent, kill the weak, maim the strong, then return with an army to finish them off!" She shouted. It was true. Everything that left her mouth was true.

"If you think you can keep this insult and kill game up, you've got another thing coming!" Atrix bellowed, his face beet red.

"And you think you're any better then your friend, Kreiger? You're as bad as any of them! You single your foes out as well, deal damage with weapons they fear; all the while, you yourself fear what you strike at!" She turned to Grodd. "And what of you? You strike down anything that you can, anything that will just roll over and die when it sees you! And what happens when you fight something stronger then you? You run away. Like a scared little girl!" Her gaze fell upon Cyrus. "And you. The last of a dead race. You cling to what little humanity you can behind that monster you call an ally. Are you human? Or just another wannabe like Safiria!" Her eyes came to the aforementioned Vampire. "Oh, do you have problems, honey. You; a bloodthirsty monstrosity with an unsatiable hunger that can only be repreived by slaughtering friend and foe alike, gorging yourself on their blood. You hunt by night, sheltered by it's comforting darkness, yet flee when day comes with the sun. You hide behind the strongest of the pack to ensure your own eternal existance. An existance which will account for nothing but death and destruction! You cannot love! You cannot feel! YOU ARE A MONSTER! You cling to the last strings of your ever-vanishing Humanity only to be tempted by a young morsal who happens across you home. Don't lie. I've seen your…craftmanship in the one I know fight. You are by far, the worst of them all." She ended by dropping her voice. Maria, even at such a distance, could see the tears creeping up the the surface of her eyes.

"Stop it!" The Guardian shouted, her fists clenched even tighter.

"What? Are you next? All right then. You, Miss Guardian are a terrible woman. You left your home to seek a life of action and adventure! To make friends! To vanquish evil! To make Lore a safer place for all! And what do you get out of it? You find out the one single greatest threat to Lore was your own sister. You make friends with murderers and monsters alike. You befriend the very evil you swore to defeat. You are, not only a hypocrite, but a coward. I'm sorry if that hurts, Maria dearest, but it's true. So. Are you going to cry too? Is baby going to cry?" Serras taunted, rubbing her eyes mockingly to symbolize a crying baby. Maria was shaking all over. If there was anything she hated more then being wrong, was Serras being right.

"Monster, murderer, hypocrite, coward. Take your pick of my label. I don't care what you tag me as. I just ask one small favor." Her head was bowed now, everyone could see a shimmer fall to the ground, a tear at anyone's best guest. "You do NOT label my friends with the same label you yourself wear!" She shouted, shooting her head up, throwing her arms out. She rose off the grounds suddenly, setting the ground below her on fire. Suddenly, the air became very cold. To Atrix's best guess, it was somewhere in the vicinity of negative fifty degrees, far colder then even Frostvale got in winter. The battle was officialy started.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Maria dashed towards Serras with one fist above her head. Serras was better prepaired this time. She managed to block all of her attackers strikes. The actual combat was both airborne and very fast paced. Leeroy and the others had problems trying to keep track of who's who. With her concentration at full, Serras could deflect anything thrown at her. But, with even the slightest slip of the hand could be disaterous.

"You're getting much faster, Serras. I applaud you. But it's time for you to end this masquerade. Mirror it up!" She shouted. An exact copy of her formed directly behind the Mage of Despair. She hardly had the time to let out a squeak before the real pain started. The copy of Maria mimicked her moves exactly. Evey strike that hit dealt double damage to Serras. Everyone watched on as Serras became a literal damage sponge, soaking everything she got hit with. In one finishing move, Maria executed an uppercut, kncoking Serras straight up. She was slightly dazed from the blow, thus unable to react. Maria teleported above the airborne Mage. She turned her wings into a tangled mess of black tentacles. Each one wrapped around a different part of Serras' body. The copy of Maria dissappeared into nothingness. She simply held the helpless Serras in place, while she executed a blinding set of linked combos, doing progressivly more and more noticable damage.

You could tell that the amount of shear ownage she was dishing out was extreame when every strike exploded on contact with the helpless target. Not wanting to be totally unfair, Maria spun Serras around and realeased her into the nearest geographical obstruction, in this case, the ground. When she hit, she created a crater that was, by anyone's best guess, thirty meters deep, and fifty meters wide. It swallowed almost all of Battleon, leaving the Guardian Tower intact. After making contact with the cold, hard earth, Maria reformed her wings, and curled them around her body, small spines protruding here and there. She then acted like a dead Battle Whale in water, falling very fast. Serras just managed to her feet before getting hammered again by Maria's own body wieght and the forces of gravity and several other magical forces. This, incidentally knocked the poor soul back onto, and further into the ground.

After making contact with Serras, The Guardian unfolded herself from the ball and repeated the process of pulverizing the Mage of Despair further and further into a full-body cast. After she stopped moving, Maria stopped and tossed Serras out of the crater, and onto the flat ground. Serras just managed to get to one knee before Maria came out.

"Had enough yet? Or do you still want some more?" The X-Guardian asked, putting her hands on her hips and coming to a rest before the crouched woman. Of course, Maria made the mistake to throw Serras right next to her sword. In one leap, Serras took hold of the Blade of Insight and held it. After several seconds, she stood back up, like nothing had happened.

"Oh, no, please. Go on." Nerra laughed. "Confused? Allow me to explain. My sword has the ability to use the souls of anyone it kills to regenerate my wounds. Once they've been used, they go right back to where they would usually go.

"Who else have you killed?" Maria asked through clenched teeth. Serras smiled and pulled her hand up with all five finger spread.

"In order; Robina the Ranger." She pulled her index finger down. "That idiotic Zorbak who got in my way." She pulled her middle finger down. "MegaPrime." She retracted her ring finger. "The blind old man." She pulled her pinky finger down. "And finally, the little girl Aria." She retracted her thumb. She only smiled.

"Those are all my friends!" She shouted, but then thought. "Except MegaPrime." Again, her tone changed to serious. "Release their souls to Death, so I can kill you! And, you can keep MegaPrime's he's goofed his last goof."

"I don't think so. Come and claim them." Serras replied, closing her eyes and smiling. A very, very bad mistake.

Maria retracted her fist, and readied to strike. But, this time, it seemed some kind of energy was surging through her fist, like dark energy or something of the sort. She muttered something inaudible under her breath before realeasing her fist. It planted right onto Serras' face, field-goaling her clear out of sight. She was flying towards Lolosia last she saw.

"That's for being such a bitch." Maria muttered, dashing after her, a streak of light was all that could be seen of X-Guardian Maria in Battleon.

"Hey! Where'd she go?" Leeroy asked, preplexed.

"Lolosia! Follow her!" Amani and Atrix replied in unison.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Lolosia, a small costal town several dozen miles north north east of Battleon, was completely unexpecting their next visitor would wipe the humble fishing village off the map of Lore.

Serras came down hard. She landed officially some coulpe dozen meters south west of the village, and slid the rest of the way in. She had not come to a full stop before she felt a twang in the back of her skull. After she had restored her ability to open her eyes, she looked up. She had run right into Maria. She had her foot poised right where the twang of pain was in her head. Maria, to her best guess, had stopped her slid with only one foot.

"You look like shit." Maria taunted, putting her arms on her hips. Serras managed to clamber to her feet unsteadily, she clutched her knotted stomach with one arm. The battered woman reached for her weapon which, at her last guess, was still sheathed on her back. "Looking for this, are we?" The Guardian asked, twirling the sword on her finger perpetually. Serras was seething at this point. She could feel her blood boiling with rage.

"How did you get my sword?" She barked, her fists clenched threateningly. Maria smiled, drawing her finger across the edge.

"Very simply, actually. I took it when you landed. You should watch your worldly possessions more carefully. Oh, there's someone I want you to meet." She finished, putting the sword in the sheath that once held her Guardian Blade. Perfect fit.

"What's up, Maria?" A soft female voice asked. She came walking out of Captian Rhubarb's hut. Her hair was the same style as the Boosted Guardian, but more reddish. She had slightly softer tones in her eyes and skin. Her voice was more caring then her friend's, but she looked more structuarly sound.

"And who are you?" Serras asked, clutching again her side.

"Me? Oh, I'm no one. I'm just your worst nightmare of insanity! Haha!" She called, slamming her fists on her hips, laughing. "Owies…" She moaned, rubbing her sides where her fists landed.

"This is Crystal Lion. She's been itching to fight you. And I though, I'm kinda tired, so I'd let her have a go at you. Hope you don't mind." Maria replied, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed.

"A normal human. This should be interesting." Serras sighed, releaved. "And slightly amusing." Maria burst out into gut-splitting laughter. Tears of shear joy flowed out of her eyes. "What are you laughing at, monstrosity?" Serras continued.

"Crystal? NORMAL? Oh, that's great. No, she's anything but normal. If you want normal, you should pick a fight with Atrix. He's good, just not special. Crystal's…well. You're a smart Mage of Despair. You can figure it out." She continued to laugh to herself, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Shall we?" Crystal Lion asked, with that distinctly Maria smug look on her face. The battered shell that was once Serras stood, salvaged what strength she could must, and drew her fists, her last weapon. "You're a good sport." She rose a hand, forming and energy ball in her palm. It stayed airborne until she drew it into herself. The air became scorching hot, igniting some of the Lolosian building aflame. Serras had to struggle from passing out from heat stroke.

When all the heat had settled, Crystal was gone, and in her place was a big furry behemoth. It looked like a werewolf with huge bat wings and two gigantic fangs protruding from her mouth. No doubt that was Wolfwing's doing. She was Lore's first; and subsiquently only, Werepyre. With a twinge of a smile, she struck. Hard and fast. The blow had just about knocked the living dead out of Serras, knocking her back, and over. She lay winded on the ground for a good ten seconds.

"What are you!" The woman shouted, trying to block the attacks. Crystal said nothing, but just struck blow after blow. After delivering a crushing downward piledrive, Crystal followed up with a swift strike to her legs, which knocked her to her stomach. The Werepyre stopped.

"What?" A soft voice came from Serras. It was not like her.

"Nice try!" Crystal growled, raising her fists up.

"Wait a second, Crystal. I think this is no ploy. Let me see." Maria responded, standing and striding towards the downed Serras. She crouched down and lifted her head. She scanned her face for anything odd. Her cold, hard frown had long dissapated. Her eyes were now filled with fear. Her lips were trembling and she had a distinct look of bewilderment. "Who are you, little one?" The Guardian asked, looking into her eyes.

"My name is Serras Nerra. I'm from Granemor." She continued, her eyes scanning the area. "Where am I, and who are you? You're scary…"

"This is Lolosia on the east coast. I'm Maria." She replied, standing to face Crystal. "I think you knocked the Mage of Despair unconcious, leaving the real Serras intact." Maria noted, returning to help Serras up.

"Crazy talk. Granemor has been a ghost town for hundreds of years." The Werepyre waved away the possiblity.

"Yes, but you forget. The Mage of Despair has been sealed away for about three hundred years. So, it's feasable that Serras is Granemorian." Crystal had to admit that Maria spoke the truth. If the timeline fits, then the possiblities the Serras was as she claimed was a good ninty nine percent.

"What about The Mage of Despair." When Crystal spoke these words, Serras' eyes grew huge.

"Please! You must kill me! You don't know what could happen if I'm allowed to live! Please!" She pleaded. Maria raised an eyebrow. This girl was afraid. She looked not eighteen, and she had such fear and so many secrets.

"Well, you heard her, Maria." Serras' voice changed again. It was the Mage of Despair back awake. "I'm a threat to all of Lore. Despite the fact that you're here." She smiled. "All though, I take solice in knowing that if you kill me, you'd be doing nothing but removing the only object that stands in the way of Lore's destruction: Yourself." She said smugly. "Allow me to explain. I am but a faximily of the Former Mage of Despair. The real Mage lays dormant inside the Blade of Insight, waiting for a body strong enough to house Her great power. I am a scout. I was designed to cull the weak and harness the strong. The strongest warrior of the century will become what Serras is now.

"This body is weak. Simply transitory. She stumbled upon my hiding spot one day, and in order to stay alive, she agreed to house me. Well, when she saw my destructive nature, she went to every wise man and shaman from here to Vamphook Spyre searching for someone who could kill her; and me in the process. Needless to say, this proved to be her undoing. The Council of Elders in Granemor decided to seal her within a tomb outside. Well. In doing this, they had inadvertanatly poisoned their own water supply, wiping that pathetic excuse for a town off of the map. And now, I am free. You would do best to listen to her, Maria. It could save Lore." Serras ended. Maria clenched her fist.

"I'll make you a deal." The X-Guardian spoke. Serras perked up. She liked deals. Expecially ones that catered to her fancy. "If you revoke your hold on Serras, I'll let you take me." Crystal reacted faster the Serras.

"Maria! You can't do that! You'd kill us all! Do you know how much power you house in your body! That form alone defies anything anyone could possibly dream of! And you plan on throwing it at the feet of a power monger bent on destruction?" There came a pause. "I won't allow it. I—I'll kill you before I'd let you fall pray to Serras!" She shouted.

"Crystal. You've got the heart of a lion. You're strong willed and beautiful. Don't throw your life away. If Serras, and that's a big if, if Serras did take control of me, no one could even hope to stop me. It would be like Akriloth all over again. Only stronger. Don't waste what you have plenty of." She turned back to Serras. "My bargain stands."

"Sacrifice your own life and the lives of those you love for one silly, naïve little girl? You really are a sad excuse for a Guardian. What would your sister think about this?"

"She'd say I was a chip off of the old block. Take it or leave it."

Everything stopped.

Maria was standing in amongst the frozen forms of her comrads and enemies alike. She was playing tape in amongst the paused ones. Then, before her, the only one to ever make her scared, the one whom everyone seems at the end of the line appeard. He, was Death. He sat on a ghostly throne, twirling his scythe as always.

"Well, well, well. Well. Well, well, well, well, well, well, well. Well." He repeated the same word.

"Hello Death. Nice morning." Maria replied, sitting. He stood.

"I'm dissapointed in you, Maria. You sacrifice yourself, only to give me more work then I need. But, as you of all people should know, I'm a stickler for favors. So, I'm willing to give you a deal, mkay?" He asked. The Guardian nodded.

"Revoke your deal with Serras, defeat her, and I will release everyone who was sent to me via her. I must have her soul. Such a person of strength would be a---find addition to my collection. How is that. Do _we_ have a deal." Death asked. Maria thought. She could usually find some loophole in Death's deals she could exploit, get her end, without nessecarily holding up her end. Without one in mind, she agreed. She wanted Aria back, the only person who understood her. Next to Safiria, of course.

"Done and done, Death. One beat up Mage of Despair, coming right up."

"Good girl." Death replied. He reached back and pulled a TV remote from his pocket (Don't ask how Maria knew what a TV was, she just did. And, does Death have pockets?) "And; play." He pushed a button and the action continued.

Serras turned her back, arms crossed. She was smug in saying: "I commend your value, but I wouldn't do what you are about to do. Not in a million years." She smiled. "But, I acc-" Maria cut her off by a takedown to the back of the head. She collapsed and began to gasp for air. Maria then drew her new Blade of Insight. She pointed it straight at her neck.

"Do you admit defeat?" Maria asked. Serras coughed some and asked:  
"What?" Maria repeated her question. "Why would I do that?"

"Because between Crystal and I, we could knock you silly for months on end, and never be out of aggression we could use to kill you. Admit defeat and you walk a way a winner. And alive." Serras began to think. She had never been truly beat before, so she didn't know what defeat felt like. Would she be able to keep her existance, or would Maria just kill her on the spot. After some considerable diliberation, she replied:  
"Yes. I admit defeat. What happens now?" She asked.

"HEY DEATH!" She called into thin air, never moving her eyes. There came a poof and the creature called Death appeared.

"Yo." He droned upon arrival.  
"I held up my end and defeated Serras. Now hold up your end." Death grimaced. He chuckled slightly.

"Sorry, didn't realize you were joking there. Funny, Maria." The Guardian gave him the 'I'm not joking' look. "You didn't even kill her! That's not what I wanted!"

"Maybe not, but that's certainly what you said. Your exact words were: 'Revoke your deal with Serras, defeat her, and I will release everyone who was sent to me via her.' I held up my end and defeated her. You never said kill her." Death thought about this. She had a point again. He looked at her through slitted eyes.

"Damn." He mumbled. "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! You got me again! You win this round, too, Maria! But just don't expect me to do you any favors for a while! I'm mad! So mad, I'm going to go prevent anyone from using Power Word Die for the next month and a half!" He vanished. Maria smiled.

"Defeating me is all well and good, but it won't last. The real Mage of Despair is in that sword. As long as it exists, it is trouble. And it cannot be destroyed. It will take you over and turn you into what I am now." Maria thought at Serras' words. She might be right. Maria had to ditch the weapon.

"Can you teleport?" She asked Serras, who nodded. "Well then, do it. Get out of here. Cause no more trouble, and you can go about your pathetic existance. Agreed?" Serras nodded again. The Guardian lifted the sword, letting Serras free, who vanished.

With her last bit of strength, she turned towards the Eastern Ocean, drew the Blade of Insight, and pitched it into the ocean. Having nothing to feed her X-Boost with, she collapsed, all of her inhuman aspects dissappeared, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Maria?" Natalya shouted as she watched her fall to the ground. The group of Amani, Grodd, Leeroy, Galanoth, Atrix, Cyrus, and Natalya rounded the hill.

"Hey! She's de-dragon'd!" Leeroy noted.

"Dragon? Where? I don't see one! WHERE'S THE DAMN DRAGON?" Galanoth shouted. Grodd, Cyrus, Amani and Atrix pounced on Galanoth and all got three punches on him.


	10. Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Two years later…

A small Lolosian fishing boat had just dropped it's net several miles out of town. They were on their third trip on the ocean, third load. After this, they could all go home. The Net Master cast the rope netting over the edge as he had done millions of times before. He let the object sink slowly to the bottom. He could stop this tonight. This was his last run. He finally got his acceptance letter back from Battleon. He was going to become a Guardian.

After the appropriate time, he started to pull the net back in. Nothing special. It was chock-a-block with fish as usual, except this time, there was a foreign object mingling with the fish. It was a gold hilt with a rusted over blade attached. The weapons resembled the Blade of Awe….


End file.
